Due to the many requests we have decided to creating this website, where we will deal with the problem of CNC sheet metal bending, ie Industrial bending the sheet. Automatic or manually controlled bending of sheet metal is closely connected with other activities, such as metal stamping, rolling and further along. Even this so we will touch here.
Although it does not seem at first glance, today products of sheet metal bending have a dominant position in our lives. It was not always this case. Similar particles have earlier been frequently processed by welding sheet metal plates or directly with molds. In the first case quality is a problem, in the second then the prize. Today's modern machines have but allowed the extension of the sheet metal bending in all areas of production, including small-lot orders.
The progress in the field of sheet metal bending meant increased efficiency, reduced engineering times, lower production costs and demands on the workers. Hardly any industry may relinquish sheet metal bending today. Manual, motorized and mainly CNC bending machines and CNC-press machines find their use. The biggest advantage is the accuracy, automation and virtually unlimited possibilities of shapes, especially while combining manufacturing plant with powder coating plant.
CNC sheet metal bending shifts difficult adjustments. Broadly speaking, only a 3D drawing on the computer (CAD / CAM) is enough for us today, and the PC with the fabrication plant this takes care of everything. Similarly it works for sheet punching.
Specific type of bending is round rolling. For this roll bending machines are used. Forms may be flat or conical. This bending of sheet metal is used for example in the production of gutters.
Bending is a technical process, during which comes to a permanent deformation of the material due to bending moment of the bending force. Sheet metal bending allows a change in the shape without substantially changing the cross-section. These operations include surface formations.
Sheet metal bending has a great advantage in that it (with a few exceptions) is not necessary to heat the material. The use of high temperatures is required by products with greater strength and materials with very high strength.
Technologies of bending differ depending on the material, the thickness, demands for quality of inflections and complexity of the products. On the imaginary top of the CNC is sheet metal processing - CNC sheet metal bending. It is for the bending of sheet metal and strips, as well as pipes, profiles, rods and so on.
While bending the sheet metal occurs an compression the material on the inside of the diffraction and an expansion of the diffraction on the outside. Therefore, the sheet metal bending is limited by the bending possibilities of the treated materials. If this limit is exceeded, it comes, at best, to a distortion of the sheet, but more often directly to the cracking. Restrictions for sheet metal punching are similar.
There are also other notable defects, such as the creation of waves. A lateral compression or the use of pulling force simultaneously with compressive force are necessary While bending thin sheets.
The oldest and simplest is simple method is simple sheet metal bending. This has particular application for small products made of sheet metal and is largely bent manually as U or V form. If you need more complex inflections, then we use a technologically sophisticated and more advanced method, mostely completely industrial (press brake).
Sheet metal bending generally proceeds as a series of bending movements. Sometimes it is fully automatic, sometimes it is necessary to replace a rail or change machine.
If we have a round (not sharp) need for diffraction of the sheet metal plate, a round rolling will help us, for which a set of rolls is used. Another requirement may be rounding of sharp edges of the material. This process of CNC production is called sheet metal hemming and it's about another method of CNC sheet metal processing. The reason for this can be for example, the strengthening of the edges, but also decorative effects.
From the point of view of mass production, an interesting technology is a permanent sheet metal bending with profiled rollers. The sheet is pressed between two molding rolls. It is a quick and effective method, but in contrast to the CNC sheet metal bending the biggest drawback is that the actual one way purpose only.
There are two main methods of bending sheet metal among the oldest. A simple bend with a hard object (resp. His sharp edges) and simple manual bending in a vice. Possibilities of this process end with the need for complex shapes and higher accuracy requirements. Moreover, these can be effectively used for piece production only. Similar disadvantages also has the sheet metal bending with hand press.
A step closer to the CNC bending is sheet metal bending and bending machines. This can create even inflections at an angle of 145 °. Said principle is a combination of the two previous methods of press and bend at a sharp edge. One of the clamping parts always remains stationary.
A big improvement for metal sheet bending on bending machines are segmented plate bending machines that can manufacture complex sheet metal products in fewer steps.
Industrial sheet metal bending is supplied with electric, hydraulic, or modular sheet metal bending machines. Their abilities compare in many areas to the values of the CNC sheet metal processing. The advantage is a lower purchase price and the demands on the expertise of the operator. The downside is only semi-automatic operation. Therefore they are mainly used in small businesses and workshops.
Advanced technology for bending sheet metal are CNC machines. It is a massive structure with computer control and often fully automatic operation. The principle are axes controlled by fine stepper motors, that get numerical instructions (CNC = Computer Numeric Control).
CNC press brakes have one big disadvantage in cost. Moreover, the more complex the technology, the higher the demands of CNC sheet metal bending on the CNC operator. The advantage, however, are the virtually unlimited possibilities, only limited by the ingenuity of the design engineer and the abilities of the processed material.
CNC machines for bending sheet metal are for example provided by the company Trumpf, Bystronic and Amada. Their programming is provided by the finished designs in CAD and CAM formatting. In practice, however, the operator often regulates the program according to the results of sheet metal bending. Controls run either manually or with a laser scanner.